freelancerfandomcom-20200223-history
Islay Base
Islay Base is the headquarters for the Gaians, an eco-terrorist group. The base is located in Sector 3F of the Edinburgh System, deep in the Islay Ice cloud. Infocard *CLASS: Unknown *GRAVITY: Complete *DOCKING: Yes *AMENITIES: Yes *POPULATION: Unknown Soon after tourists began to arrive in Edinburgh in 690 AS, Cambridge scientists voiced their concern over the ecological damage that even the most regulated visits could inflict on the planet. Almost from birth, Cambridgers had drilled into them the stories of how New London and Leeds were blighted, so they tended to be very environmentally sensitive. A few of the younger and more militant scientists studying on Edinburgh went so far as to begin a campaign to sabotage tourist transports as an effort to discourage visits, but with little effect. Once Cobalt was discovered on Gaia in 740 the BMM began to make noises in New London about the need to establish a mining base there. What had been a quiet, bloodless campaign of active resistance blossomed into full-fledged conflict. Graffiti with slogans such as "GAIA WILL NOT BLEED" was spotted soon after. The eco-terrorist movement had begun. Eventually, any plans to mine the surface of Edinburgh were dropped - mostly out of the fear that it might cut into the burgeoning tourist industry - but the Gaians had already broadened their horizons by an influx of radical elements from Cambridge who sought a ban on terraforming technologies. Planetform Inc. was the natural target. What emerged was a militant terrorist group philosophically opposed to the explotation of planets, terraforming in particular. The group enjoyed considerable popular support on Cambridge, funded by the efforts of the legitimate arm of the Gaians, called the Green Front. While the Gaians and the eco-terrorist movement as a whole have made little progress outside of Bretonia space, Green Front propaganda is a common site in Bretonia. Green Front commenters are often present in the news, and unlike the Mollys a certain amount of tolerance for them exists in the government from those disinclined to antagonize their Cambridge connection. Over the years the movement has broadened considerably until the majority of its sympathizers are environmentally conscious individuals from throughout Bretonia. The sole Gaian base lies deep within the Islay Ice cloud at the northeastern edge of the Edinburgh system. From here, the eco-terrorists coordinate their attacks on their enemies within Bretonia space and in Tau-31. Occasionally, raids are made on the center of all evil, Planetform Inc. headquarters on Canterbury Station in the New London System. Ironically, although they have strong Cambridge roots, there is no activity within that system. Ships For Sale -NONE- Commodities For Sale *Oxygen - $35 *Water - $15 Guns For Sale *Avenger *Avenger Type B *Gaia's Savior *Gaia's Savior Type B Turrets For Sale -NONE- Missiles For Sale *Stalker Missile - Class 1 *Slingshot Missile - Class 3 *Windstalker Missile - Class 3 *Sweeper Missile - Class 4 *Catapult Missile - Class 5 Shields For Sale *Adv. Sentry Fr. Shield *Adv. Sentry H.F. Shield *Adv. Sentry L.F. Shield *Guardian Fr. Shield *Guardian H.F. Shield *Guardian L.F. Shield *Adv. Guardian Fr. Shield *Adv. Guardian H.F. Shield *Adv. Guardian L.F. Shield *Sentinel Fr. Shield *Sentinel H.F. Shield *Sentinel L.F. Shield Torpedo/Cruise Disruptors For Sale *Starkiller Torpedo Launcher *Wasp Cruise Disruptor Mine Dispensers For Sale *Razor Mine *Seeker Mine *Tadpole Mine *Wardog Mine News CLOSE CALL FOR GAIAN ACTIVIST: NEW LONDON -- Constance Rogers almost met her end last week when several armed assailants accosted her in New London. Rogers was on her way to a press conference when an unlicensed vehicle rammed the skiff she was riding in. Three men in black jumped out of the marauding craft and unloaded handheld weapons into Rogers' skiff. Her driver and personal assistant were both killed in the hail of gunfire. Though it is an unfortunate tragedy, we are lucky not to lose Rogers, one of our best lobbyists. She only suffered minor injuries. NATIVE SPECIES ON GAIA NEARLY EXTINCT: GAIA -- The jeweled windbird is in danger of becoming extinct because of bacteria brought to the planet by tourists from Leeds. The small multicolored bird that populated the forests of Gaia is rapidly declining in numbers because of the sickness caused by the alien bacteria. The bacteria makes the eggs of the windbird extremely brittle and susceptible to breakage before the fetuses can fully develop. The bacteria have been identified as originating from Leeds and must have been transported by a tourist aboard Orbital Spa's Shetland liner. The windbird has been the focus of many works of art because of its dazzling beauty and iridescent feathers. NEW TACTICS SUCCESSFUL: MANCHESTER -- Ice asteroids are a terraformer's best friend. Ice asteroids found in a system are dumped into a planet's atmosphere in a warped attempt to change the planet from its natural state into an artificial ecosystem for human beings. Now it looks like ice asteroids may become the terraformer's worst enemy. A Planetform, Inc. ship slammed into an ice asteroid last week, completely destroying the craft. The asteroid had been dragged by our ships into the Trade Lanes just before a scheduled Planetform run through that area. The regrettable loss of life will stop once Planetform ceases its operation. Rumors Gaians "The austere majesty of Gaia is cheapened by the swarms of tourists that set foot upon the planet. Orbital Spa and Cruise, though it may feign to preserve the abundance of its locales, cares for nothing more than its next credit." "The Aberdeen Police Station and the in-system Bounty Hunters are the only things that stop us from completely destroying Planetform's operations in this system. Maybe the Green Front will be able to garner enough public support for us on New London so that we don't have to contend with the police anymore." "We have information indicating that the centuries-long terraforming operations run by Planetform will never succeed. A top secret government report obtained by the Green Front asserts that the planets will lose their nascent atmospheres within several hundred years of completion of the process due to uncontrolled outgassing." "Tau-31 is an important sector for the Gaians. Though terraforming operations on Planet Harris are almost complete, they still need Alien Organisms from the Edge Nebula. The Organisms are crucial in speeding up the terraforming process, thereby making it more economically viable." "The Terraforming Gases produced at the Stokes plant in Leeds are a high-priority target for Gaian attack. It is a dangerous run because of our inability to hide for some stretches of travel through Leeds. Usually, only our best pilots make that trip." "Our hope is that one day the corrupt leadership of BMM and Planetform will be exposed for the greedy, shortsighted people they are. They have squandered our national heritage and future after eight hundred years of unregulated industrialization." "We bring in all of our supplies, other than our locally available Oxygen and Water, from Trafalgar. It is most ironic that the only place we can land is the despised Junker base — guardians of filth, corruption, and the criminal element." "Leeds is our greatest example of the ruin that mankind can wreck upon nature — the sheer destructiveness of pure exploitation. It is also the home of the Stokes Smelter, where Terraforming Gases are produced. Fortunately, the system can be used as an access route to all of Bretonian travel because of all the smog clouds. It's ironic how we escape in the filth we are trying so hard to eradicate." "The Outcast ship Lorenzo was making a Cardamine run from Cali to Mactan when it was caught by a military patrol in the LD-14 Asteroid Field. It turned further into the heart of the field to escape its pursuers and stumbled into an old radioactive pocket. The crew is presumed dead, but the ship is probably still intact. No one has retrieved the cargo yet due to the high radiation danger in the area." "The San Vincente was making a Cardamine run from Cali to New London when it was ambushed by a Armed Forces patrol in the West Leeds Smog Cloud. The cargo was recovered by the military, but it is possible that one of the larger pieces of debris still has some equipment attached." "A Gaian attack was broken up the other day by the Bretonia Armed Forces north of Harris. Most of the Gaians were vaporized on the spot, but the Valiant, flown by Lucy Collins, escaped to the northwestern end of the system, in Outcast territory. No one has heard from her since." Category:Bases Category:Bretonia Systems Category:Criminals